Retractable safety belt



April 26, 1949. M. B. KIRKPATRICK 4 2,468,560

RETRACTIBLE vSAFETfBELT v 7 Filed July 25, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor %XB. [finljva ZIP z'ck April 1949. M. B. KIRKPATRICK RETRACTIBLE SAFETY BELT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 23, 1945 Inventor w m w, m B M By 24m Wave; eys

Patented Apr. 26, 1949 RETRACTABLE SAFETY BELT Max B. Kirkpatrick, Anchorage, Alaska, assignor of fifty per cent to Matt W. Parvin, Amity,

Greg.

Application July 23, 1945, Serial No. 606,624

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a retractible safety belt adapted primarily for use on passenger accommodations in aircraft, and more particularly to a belt for securely fastening the passenger to his seat.

The primary object of the invention is a safe and secure belt that embodies features enabling it to be retracted when not in use, for appearance, cleanliness and ease of application and still be self -adjusting for passenger comfort and safety.

To meet aircraft regulation requirements, it embodies a quick release feature allowing, in case of necessity, the occupants to release the belt with the full weight of their persons applied.

The above and other objects may be attained by employing my invention which embodies among its features a tubular housing adapted to be alfixed to the chair to be occupied, extensible means fastened adjacent one end of the tubular member and having connected to its opposite end a safety strap, adapted when not in use to be housed within the tubular member by retraction of the extensible member.

Other features embody a clamp for holding the strap against retraction by the extensible meml her in a position so that the strap may embrace the person of the occupant of the chair, and means for securing the opposite end of the strap to the chair so as to cause the strap to embrace the person of the occupant of the seat.

Still other features include a quick detachable fastener by means of which the strap can be easily and quickly released from its personembracing position.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a front view of a chair showing my improved safety strap and retaining means in operative position thereon,

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the tubular housing used to conceal the strap, and illustrating the strap concealed therein,

Figure 3 is a side view of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is an enlarged perspective view showing one end of the tubular housing with the strap extended therefrom, the details of the strapholding clamp and the quick detachable fastening by means of which the strap is held in embracing position about the person of the occupant of the chair, and

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 55 of Figure 3.

Referring to the drawings in detail, a chair designated generally I0 comprises the usual back II and chair seat [2. This seat is supported on the usual frame l3 (Fig. 5) which is supported in spaced relation to the floor on legs l4.

My improved safety strap attachment includes a substantially U-shaped tubular member l5 which is adapted to be fastened to the chair frame It on opposite sides, as illustrated in the drawings.

Attached, as at 15, adjacent one end of the tubular member If: is a retraetile coil spring ll, which, as illustrated in the drawings, is operable within the tubular member. Attached at 18 to the free end of the spring I7 is a strap is which, when extended, forms the safety belt which embraces the person of the occupant of the seat. Mounted on the chair frame [3 adjacent the end of the U-shaped tubular housing [5 opposite that to which the spring ll is attached is a clamp designated generally 29. The clamp 2%] comprises a base plate 2| which in the present instance is shown as being pierced to receive attaching screws by which it may be secured to the frame I3 of the chair. Extending outwardly from the base plate 2i is a pair of ears 22 between which a cylinder 23 is rotatably mounted on eccentrically disposed trunnions which extend through openings formed in the ears 22, as illustrated in Figure 4. One end of one of the trunnions is extended, as at 25, and terminates in an angularly extending handle 25 by means of which the cylinder 23 may be rotated to move it into strap-clamping position, as shown in Figure 5.

Secured as by screws 28' to the opposite side of the seat is a keeper designated generally 26 which comprises a plate 21 formed near one end i With an opening 28 to provide a cross bar 29 to which the end of the strap I9 opposite that attached to the spring ii is adapted to be fastened by means of a quick detachable fastener designated generally 3!].

The quick detachable fastener 39, above referred to, comprises a lever arm 3! formed intermediate its side edges with a pair of spaced ears 32 having aligning apertures for the reception of a pivot bar 33 around which the end of the strap [9 is bent and fastened, as by rivets 34. One end of the lever arm, as shown in Figure 4, overlies a portion of the strap and is provided with one-half of a snap fastener 35 which is adapted to cooperate with the other half 35 of a snap fastener carried by the belt IS. The end of the lever 3| opposite that which overlies the strap is provided with an outturned hook 31 which, as shown in Figure 4, is adapted to be passed through the slot 28 in the keeper 26 and engaged beneath the bar 29 when the strap is in fastened position.

The operation of the device is apparent from the drawings, but a brief outline thereof is as follows: Assuming that the strap is in the retracted position, as shown in Figure 2, and the device afiixed to the chair I0, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 3, the occupant of the chair, after properly seating himself, grasps the protruding end of the strap and draws it across his lap against the tension of the spring I! and passes the hook 31 through the slot 28, as illustrated in Figure 4, of the keeper 26. The lever 3| of the quick detachable fastener 30 is then pushed into engagement with the strap so that the fastener halves 35 and 36 will snap and hold the lever in locked position. Tension across the lap of the wearer may be relieved by turning the lever 25 so that the cylinder 23 frictionally engages the strap, as suggested in Figure 5, and it will thus be seen that the strap will be firmly held at both ends about the person of the occupant of the seat. Alternately, the strap may be withdrawn from the housing l5 against the tension of the spring and after what appears to be a, suitable length of strap protrudes therefrom, the lever 25 may be operated to move the cylinder 23 into frictional contact with the strap and the strap moved across the person of the occupant of the seat and fastened as before.

Should it become necessary to quickly release the strap from person-engaging position, it is obvious that by pulling the lever 3| away from the strap, the snap fastener halves 35 and 36 will be disengaged and the hook may be readily disengaged from the slot 28.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention, it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. The combination with a chair of a safety belt comprising an extensible member fixed at one end to one side of a chair, said extensible member extending transversely of the chair beneath the seat thereof, a strap fixed at one end to the end of the extensible member remote from its fixed end, a releasable clamp fixed to the chair on the side remote from the fixed end of the extensible member and operable by the occupant of the chair for engaging the strap and holding it extended against the effort of the extensible member and a detachable fastener on the end of the strap remote from the extensible member for holding the strap across and in front of the body of the occupant of the chair.

2. The combination with a chair of a safety belt comprising an extensible member fixed at one end to one side of a chair, said extensible member extending transversely of the chair beneath the seat thereof, a strap fixed at one end to the end of the extensible member remote from its fixed end, a releasable clamp fixed to the chair on the side remote from the fixed end of the extensible member and operable by the occupant of the chair for engaging the strap and holding it extended against the effort of the extensible member, a detachable fastener on the end of the strap remote from the extensible member for holding the strap across and in front of the body of the occupant of the chair and a transversely extending tubular housing fixed to the chair and surrounding the extensible member.

3. The combination with a chair of a safety belt comprising an extensible member fixed at one end to one side of a chair, said extensible member extending transversely of the chair beneath the seat thereof, a strap fixed at one end to the end of the extensible member remote from its fixed end, a releasable clamp fixed to the chair on the side remote from the fixed end of the extensible member and operable by the occupant of the chair for engaging the strap and holding it extended against the effort of the extensible member, a detachable fastener on the end of the strap remote from the extensible member for holding the strap across and in front of the body of the occupant of the chair and a U-shaped tubular housing fixed adjacent opposite ends to opposite sides of the chair and surrounding the extensible member.

MAX B. KIRKPATRICK.

REFERENCES I CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 894,052 Radke July 21, 1908 1,907,098 Dowd et a1 May 2, 1933 2,071,903 Shively Feb. 23, 1937 2,263,348 Barros Nov, 18, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 582,985 France Oct. 24, 1924 700,743 France Jan. 2, 1931 

